Millville's housing reflects a city built in several waves. The downtown and riverfront districts hold late-19th- and early-20th-century homes—Victorian-era houses, brick rowhouses, and older frame construction—clustered around High Street and the glassworks. Established residential streets radiate outward with mid-century ranches, bungalows, and split-levels, many on modest lots. Around Union Lake and the Maurice River, homes with water frontage or wooded, lakeside settings appear, while the city's outskirts offer larger lots and newer subdivisions. The variety means buyers can find a historic downtown home, a lakeside property, or a suburban house within a single municipality, a span unusual for a city of Millville's size.

Millville is organized around its riverfront core. The High Street and Main Street district, home to the Glasstown Arts District, forms the historic center, with shops, galleries, and older housing in close walking range. Residential sections fan out from there, including established areas around the city's elementary schools—Holly Heights, Lakeside, Rieck Avenue, and Silver Run—each with its own neighborhood character. Union Lake anchors a distinct waterfront band of the city, with lakeside streets and wildlife areas, while the western and southern edges transition toward farmland and forest. This spread gives Millville a small-town downtown surrounded by quieter, more spread-out residential pockets.

Millville's cultural life centers on the Glasstown Arts District, where more than 100 local artists show work in galleries and studios set in restored historic buildings along High Street and the Maurice riverfront. The district hosts a monthly Third Friday event with exhibitions, live music, and open studios. WheatonArts offers glassmaking demonstrations, a museum of American glass, and seasonal events on a wooded campus. The dining scene ranges from South Jersey staples—pizza and cheesesteaks—to soul, Indian, Mexican, and vegan options. New Jersey Motorsports Park adds a motorsports culture with races and track days. The result is a city where an artist-run downtown and an industrial heritage sit comfortably side by side.

Millville is served by the Millville School District, headquartered on North Third Street, which operates the city's public elementary, middle, and high schools, including Millville Senior High School. The district's campuses are spread across the city, with neighborhood schools serving sections such as Holly Heights, Lakeside, Rieck Avenue, and Silver Run. Private and parochial options supplement the public system. For families, Millville offers a small-city school environment with the resources of Cumberland County nearby, and the city's arts institutions—particularly WheatonArts—provide enrichment programming beyond the classroom.

Millville sits along New Jersey Route 55, a limited-access freeway that runs through the city and provides the primary link north to Glassboro and the Philadelphia area, connecting to the Atlantic City Expressway, the New Jersey Turnpike, and Interstates 76, 95, and 295. Route 47 runs parallel as a local north–south corridor, and together they carry traffic between the Delaware Valley and the Jersey Shore resorts of Cape May County. The Philadelphia commute is typically about 45 to 60 minutes by car. NJ Transit bus routes serve the city, though passenger rail does not reach Millville, making Route 55 the backbone of regional travel.

The Maurice River and Union Lake define outdoor life in Millville. Union Lake, a popular fishing and boating lake created by damming the Maurice and Mill rivers, is ringed by Union Lake Park and the roughly 5,000-acre Union Lake Wildlife Management Area, where bald eagles and osprey are commonly seen and miles of trails wind through woods and along the lakeshore. The city maintains neighborhood parks with playgrounds and fields, and the surrounding South Jersey farmland offers biking and hiking. New Jersey Motorsports Park brings racing and track days to the city's edge, while WheatonArts and the Glasstown Arts District provide year-round indoor culture.